William Walker

Remembering Billy
William George Walker was born October 10th, 1949 in a small stone building near downtown Franklin which, at the time, served as the community's hospital. The oldest of five children, Billy left High School during his senior year to help support his family after the untimely death of his father, William Deward Walker, whose passing and absence he privately grieved for much of his life. He was a humble, yet hard-working man of few words with plumbing skills that faithfully served the urgent needs of others, day or night, for over a quarter-century.
He was fascinated by wildlife, often tormenting loved ones at will with those infamous squirrel noises he learned while hunting them in the woods as a boy. He loved the quiet beauty of a fishing pond and family farm almost as much as the roar of a racetrack with Dale Earnhardt in the lead. He had trophies and awards of his own that he won at numerous car shows around the area with the pride and joy of his retirement years - an early 1970s Ford Maverick that he bought in Bristol, Tennessee and meticulously restored with the help of his brothers, which served as a therapeutic diversion from the cancer that troubled him late in life - a seven year struggle that ended peacefully on April 14th, 2013 at 8:15PM.
He is survived by his mother, Ethel Vivian Walker - two sisters, Cynthia Ann Mangrum and Lisa Louise Proctor - two brothers, Ronald Deward Walker and Philip Wayne Walker and six children: Bill Walker, Michael Walker, Vickie Walker Allen, Lisa Walker Schmid, Cory Walker and Lindsey Walker Cadle.
Today's service is officiated by Greg Mangrum.
Music by Ronnie Rigsby and Ricky Mangrum.
Pallbearers: Chester Hardy, Tommy Baker, Bobby Anderson, Paul Proctor, Ricky Mangrum and Terry Mangrum.